Dalek Invasion of Earth: 2007
by Lady-Sci-Fi
Summary: DW and SJA crossover. Daleks invade. People die. What can Sarah Jane Smith, The Doctor, Martha Jones, and two teeanagers do to stop them? Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

New story. Doctor Who and Sarah Jane Adventures crossover. Based on a dream I had.

Disclaimer: Doctor Who and SJ Adventures characters and things do not belong to me. Tegan and Bry do, though.

Dalek Invasion of Earth: 2007

"So, what's the conspiracy theory of the day?" Bry asked me as he pulled me close to him to avoid a running little boy.

We were in a London mall on a busy Saturday in June.

I sighed. "Bry, they're not 'conspiracy theories.' They're research fact."

"Ohhh, and you're so sure of that?" Bry teased.

"Yes, I am."

"So, back to my question. What's the 'research fact' of the day?"

"I did tell you about UNIT, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it's about the scientific advisor they had years ago. His name was-is Doctor John Smith. But-"

"No way. John Smith? Who actually names their kid that?"

"But everyone called him the Doctor."

"And what's so special about him?"

"First of all, he wasn't ever paid for his services. And, supposedly, he can change his face at will."

"And you believe that?"

"There are off-the-record reports by a Brigadier Alastair Lethbridge-Stewart, who worked very closely with the Doctor."

"Uh-huh."

I beamed a smile at Bry before kissing his cheek. "Guess what else. Sarah Jane Smith also worked for UNIT, with the Doctor."

"Your journalist hero?"

"Yeah."

Being an aspiring writer myself, I often read the works of other authors. My favorite articles were written by Sarah Jane Smith. Her perspectives were different from anyone else's. It was as though only she knew a secret about the universe itself, and couldn't tell anyone. But her apparently unique experiences showed in her work.

"You hungry?" Bry asked with a smile.

"Not really."

"I think you'll be hungry in a minute."

"Oh, really, and why is that?"

Bry just grinned and pointed to a table. Sitting alone, sipping a cup of tea, was a woman who looked to be in her late-40's with mid-length brown hair. I knew her face.

Bry and I walked over to the woman. "Sarah Jane Smith?" I asked.

Her head came up to look at Bry and me. "Yes? What can I do for you?"

"Do you mind if we…?" I asked.

She nodded her head and Bry and I sat down at the table.

"You have me at a disadvantage," Sarah Jane Smith said.

"I'm Tegan Landson, and this is Brian Shrieber," I introduced.

"You read my work." Sarah stated.

"How can I not?" I rhectorically asked. "I mean, you have had different experiences than almost anyone else, and it really shows in your writing."

"Tegan's your number one fan," Bry stated.

I elbowed my friend in his ribs and smiled at Sarah.

"Well, I know the start to an intellectual conversation when I see one," Sarah remarked.

Then two kids in their early teens came to the table. One was a girl with tan skin and wavy dark brown hair. The other was a boy with short dark hair and fair skin.

"Luke, Maria, this is Tegan Landson and Brian Shrieber. Tegan, Brian, this is my son Luke and our friend Maria," introduced Sarah.

Hellos and nice-to-meet-you's were exchanged. Then Luke turned to his mother and said, "Maria said she saw something earlier that she thinks would look nice on me."

"Uh-huh. Well, I'll be at the fountain. Meet me there in thirty minutes," Sarah told them.

"Okay, Sarah," replied Maria before grabbing Luke's hand. "Come on."

Sarah looked at them as they disappeared into the crowd. "So, what did you want to talk with about?"

Brian and I followed Sarah to the fountain in the mall's center. Sarah and I had been talking for a good twenty-five minutes when we heard an explosion.

"What the…?" asked Bry as everyone looked in the direction of the sound and radiating heat.

We ducked as a shop near us blew up. Everyone around us ran in the opposite direction as the first explosion.

"That's where Luke and Maria went," Sarah urgently said, pointing to the ruins of the first explosion. She started pushing her way through the fleeing crowd as another shop exploded. Bry and I followed.

"Help!" two muffled voices cried from underneath the remains of the shop.

"Luke! Maria!" Sarah yelled as soon as we reached them.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"For the moment," answered Maria.

"We'll get you out as soon as we can, do you understand?" said Sarah.

"Mom, hurry," urged Luke.

Sarah turned to Bry and me. It was something she saw behind us that made her eyes widen in fear.


	2. Chapter 2

I am soooo sorry for not updating earlier. Okay… I would like some reviews. I'll make a deal. For every two or three reviews I get, I'll give you another chapter. On with the story.

Chapter 2

"Sarah, what is it?" asked Bry.

"You will be silent," a mechanical voice behind us ordered.

Bry and I instantly turned around. I almost had to suppress the urge to laugh. Three R2-D2-like machine beings were directly in front of us. They were waving some type of… mechanical feeler-arm at us. Like I said, I would have laughed if I hadn't already seen Sarah Jane's fear.

"Scanning," one of the machines said. "All are Human. The older female is in the records. Searching… Sarah Jane Smith, companion of the Doctor."

Bry and I looked at Sarah in wonder. How did these alien-machines know her?

"Daleks," she addressed. "Why are you here? What do you want from us now?"

"Information," the leader answered. "We will acquire it, if it takes the extermination of every Human in this building."

Sarah's initial fear turned to anger. "That isn't necessary. We-"

"Sarah?" we heard Maria's muffled voice say. "Sarah, what's happening?"

"Who is that? Reveal yourself," commanded the leader.

"They can't. They're trapped underneath the rubble. They need help getting out."

"They are weak. They will be exterminated." To his underlings, the leader said, "Prepare to fire."

"No!" Sarah shouted, rushing forward and pressing her abdomen against the leader's gun barrel. "You can't! They're only children."

"They are irrelevant."

"They are not irrelevant," Sarah forcefully responded. "If you kill them, I will not cooperate with you."

The leader backed up a little, then told his two underlings, "Disintegrate the rubble."

"Luke, Maria, get as far back as you can," Sarah warned.

A moment later, the rubble was nothing more than dust. Luke and Maria emerged from the remains of the shop, scratched, bruised, and covered in dust, but otherwise alright. They tightly hugged Sarah before noticing the machine-beings.

"What's going on?" Luke asked.

"I'll explain later," was Sarah's response.

"You will walk forward."

The five of us Humans did as they ordered, with the machines following behind, guns aimed at our backs. When we came to the mall's center- the fountain and food court- we realized how much control the machine-beings had over us. There were thirty of them. And they had at least 300 of us trapped in a ring of them. The five of us started going to the large group of hostages, but the leader stopped us.

"You will be kept separate from the rest of the hostages," he said. He pointed to a bookstore, where two machines were posted guards.

We began walking to it when we heard a female voice shout, "Toby, no!"

We turned to see what was happening. A man was running towards the nearest exit-way. He was instantly shot down by a beam of blue-green light from one of the machines.

"You bastards!" the woman cried, going to Toby. She had just knelt by his side and yelled, "You killed him!" when she was also shot. Toby and the woman were now dead.

Sarah sadly nodded her head as the machines pushed us forward to the bookstore. We were silent. I couldn't speak for the other three, but Bry and I were shocked by the sudden murder of two innocent people.

"If you leave this room, you will be exterminated," the leader warned us before he and his two- I could only think of them as his bodyguards- left us with the two bookstore guards. Before we could enter our prison, one of the machines ordered us to drop anything electronic we had. On the floor went cell phones, watches, and ipods. I didn't want us to be completely helpless, so I faked a panic attack. I dropped to my hands and knees, coughing heavily. I stealthily grabbed the phone closest to me and held it tightly. Bry quickly pulled me to my feet before the guards could threaten me.

"Are you alright?" he asked after we had sat down against a bookshelf that was five shelves away from the entrance.

I looked up at my four concerned friends and grinned. I held up the cell phone, which happened to be Bry's.

"Alright. The way I see it, we only have one call we can make before they realize we have it," Sarah said, taking the phone from me.

"Who are you going to call?" asked Bry. "The police?"

Sarah shook her head. "They'd get shot down before even getting into this mall. I'm calling a friend of mine." She punched in some numbers, then held the phone to her ear.

"Brigadier? This is Sarah Jane… not so well… listen, Daleks are here… I know… no, he's not here… tell the police to not send any of their people in… London Mall… I've got four kids with me in isolation from the rest of the hostages… I hope so… Good-bye." Sarah hung up the phone, then left us for a moment. She came back empty-handed. She had sneakily given the phone back to the machines. I sighed and stood up, looking at the books on the shelf opposite us. There was a section on aliens. I grabbed the most recent of the selection and sat back down to flip through it.

"This is no time to read, Tegan," Bry said.

"Bry, they locked us in with very dangerous weapons, if only we could use them to our advantage," I replied.

Sarah gave a small smile. "That's what the Doctor would say," she whispered.

"All these stories of aliens on Earth are true," I said. "UFO's, abductions, unexplainable occurrences…"

Sarah motioned for Bry to scoot over so that she could sit next to me. I opened the book. There were photos and illustrations. Sarah identified some of the aliens in the illustrations. Sontarans, Star Poets, Cybermen… the list went on. We got to the machine-beings that had us imprisoned here.

"Daleks," Sarah told us.

"They keep popping up in our history. Ancient Rome, 1930's New York…" I muttered, not reading the rest out loud.

"Wait. The Daleks can't fly," Sarah said while reading the witness accounts of 1930's New York. "They couldn't even go up or down stairs."

"Does that mean they've upgraded since you last encountered them?" I asked.

"Definitely. If you managed to push one over onto it's side, it was helpless. Not now, though. But there is vital flaw they haven't changed."

"What's that?"

"The eyestalk. They have very limited vision."

"Well, unless we can get close enough to cover it up, we've got nothing we can do," Bry remarked.

"Except wait," I responded. "Sarah, how do the Daleks know you? It has something to do with UNIT and Doctor John Smith, doesn't it?"

"Yes." With a deep breath, Sarah Jane started her explanation. "Nearly thirty years ago, I went to investigate UNIT. Their scientists were disappearing. I originally thought that their UNIT's scientific advisor, Doctor John Smith, was the reason. It was actually a time-traveling Sontaran. Anyway, after that, I stayed with the Doctor, traveling with him."

"In space and time," I interjected.

"Yes. I encountered the Daleks twice while I was with him. Once before his regeneration, and once after. Apparently, they remember me."

"Regeneration? Rumour was that he could change his face at will."

"Not at will. When he died, he changed. His face and personality. You see, when I first met him, he had a head of fluffy white hair. He was a bit of a dandy, and… I guess you could say he had a little temper and impatience. He died of radiation poisoning. A few moments later, he came back. This time, he had curly brown hair and a manic grin. This time, he was a 'wandering Bohemian.'

I was completely entranced. "How long did you travel with him?"

"About three years. Of course, when he dropped me off, it had only been a month."

"Why did you leave?"

"To be honest, I felt like… I don't know. But he said that he had gotten 'the call.' He had to go back to Galiffrey, his homeworld. Humans weren't allowed on Gallifrey in those days. I didn't see him again until two years ago."

"Did he look the same?"

"No. He said he had regenerated six times since we last saw eachother."

"I've seen photos of him," I said. "Sort of spiky brown hair and a tan pinstripe suit."

Sarah nodded.

In the resulting silence, I heard a scratching sound from behind the check-out counter in the middle of the store. I glanced at my friends to see if they had heard it. They had. Bry was first up and went to investigate. Once he reached the counter, we heard a strangled shout.


	3. Chapter 3

I'll be nice and give you a freebie chapter for making you wait so long, but I still would like reviews.

Chapter 3

The four of us rushed to Bry's side.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

Bry's response was pointing to a person who was chained to the counter, his head in his hands. I started going to the strange man. Bry grabbed my arm and asked, "What are you doing? He could be dangerous."

"He's a prisoner, like we are." I yanked my arm from my friend's grasp and slowly approached the chained man. Sarah was right at my side. When I was close enough to touch the man, I kneeled down in front of him. He was wearing a tattered black suit. I could see that he obviously wasn't Human. His hands were green-brown and the two middle fingers were fused together. From what I could see of his head, it was also green-brown. There was a bleeding gash on the back of his head and neck, leaking out green blood. It trickled down the back of his suit and pooled onto the red carpeted floor.

I tentatively reached out to touch the top of his head. I quickly pulled my hand back when he moaned. I squashed my fear and reached out again when the alien man stilled. I laid my hand on the top of his head. His skin was almost… slimy and cold. He didn't react until I started stroking his head. He started trembling. I heard muffled sobbing through his hands. My heart went out to the alien.

I wrapped my arms around the alien's torso and pulled him into an embrace. I pressed the side of his face against my chest. He wrapped his arms around my waist. I felt his tears stain my shirt. I gently hushed him and stroked the back of his head.

"I'm sorry," the alien choked out. "… so sorry."

Sarah kneeled down next to us. Bry, Luke, and Maria gathered around.

"What happened?" Sarah quietly asked.

The alien looked up at my face. "I-I… my name is Sec. I-I was Dalek Sec," he said in a raspy voice.

"You're a Dalek?" Bry asked.

"L-let me tell… you everything." Sec tried to sit up on his own, but he pitched forward into me.

"I've got you," I said, holding him.

"Thank… you. I used to be… Dalek Sec… of the Cult of Skaro. We… were different. We… realized that Humans… had repeatedly defeated… the Daleks. We… realized why. Humans have… creativity. Humans have… imagination. We would need… that imagination to… defeat the Humans. We traveled to… 1937 New York… when they were building the… Empire State Building. Our plan… was to combine Dalek and… Human DNA… so that we would have the… imagination we… needed. The final experiment… was a success… and a failure."

"You were the final experiment," I realized.

"Yes… I was a success… because I survived. I was a failure… because I also inherited Human… morals and compassion. There was a… mutiny. Dalek Caan… took over… took me prisoner. Of course… the Doctor and his Human… friends stopped Caan and the other two. They… and I was dragged along… time-shifted away. They… came here. At the… height of your… technological… revolution. When you… would depend on… your technology for… everything. Their plan is too… use your technology… against you."

"Then, why all this?" Maria asked.

"If the Doctor comes… he'll have a… hostage situation. He… does not like… unneeded death… of innocents. Since my… success… I've felt that way." Sec looked to Sarah. "Sarah Jane Smith… I remember you… I was the one who… killed Davros."

"You were the one to do that?" Sarah asked.

Sec nodded. Then he moaned in pain. The gash on the back of his head was still bleeding. Sarah took off her sweater and grabbed the bottle of water from the desk. She poured some of the water onto her rolled up sweater. Sec hissed when Sarah started dabbing his wound with the wet sweater.

"All this is… my fault," Sec stated.

"No," I protested. "It was Dalek Sec's fault. You're not him anymore. You tried to get the Daleks to stop. What happens now is Dalek Caan's fault."

"You Humans… so compassionate."

"Well, I can't speak for all of Humankind, but the five of us are," Bry replied.

Sec let out a low laugh, which turned to a heavy coughing fit. When it subsided, Sarah tied her green-blood-spotted sweater around Sec's neck to reduce the blood flow.

"Luke, your jacket, please," Sarah requested.

Luke took off his windbreaker jacket and handed it to Sarah, who balled it up and placed it on the floor. Then she and I gently lowered Sec's torso and head to the floor, positioning the makeshift pillow under his head.

I was about to move away from Sec, when he grabbed my hand. "Please… I don't want… to be alone."

I laid my other hand on top of his and gave it a gentle reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry. You're not alone."

As Sec closed his eyes, the corners of his mouth lifted a little. I slowly repositioned myself so that I was a little more comfortable, then held Sec's hand and gently stroked the side of his face. I didn't stop even when he fell asleep a few moments later.

"Who was Davros?" asked Maria quietly.

"Davros was the father, the creator of the Daleks. He created them so that the Kaleds would be able to defeat the Thals, a neighboring race of people. Unfortunately for him, his children turned on him. They were too ambitious to take orders from an 'inferior' person. Even though he was the reason they existed."

"If you went back to the time when the Daleks were first created, why didn't you kill them all then?" Bry asked. "They must've been vulnerable."

"That's actually what the Gallifreyan Time Lords sent the Doctor to do. The Doctor was going to kill them. He had the explosive to the incubator ready to go. All he had to do was hold two wires together. But he couldn't do it."

"Why not? What stopped him?" inquired my friend.

I spoke up. "His conscience," I stated. "Brian, could you kill a race of people that was nothing more than children?"

"True, but he knew what they would become."

"Let me put it this way," Sarah said. "Suppose the Time Lords came to see us Humans when we were nothing more than a war-wanting people. Suppose they sent someone to kill us all when we were just starting life, as primitive cavemen."

Bry sighed and solemnly nodded.

Without my watch I didn't know what time it was, but I knew that it was getting late. It had been nearly 6:45 when the first store had exploded. But now, it didn't matter what time it was. All we could do at the moment was hope that the Brigadier had managed to get help.

We were all tired. Luke leaned over onto Sarah Jane and Maria laid down on the floor, her head propped up on Sarah's thigh. Sarah Jane kissed the top of her son's head and wrapped her arm against his shoulders. She placed her other hand on the upward side of Maria's head.

Without letting go of Sec's hand, I leaned back into Bry's chest and closed my eyes. Fleeting thoughts of what would happen tomorrow occupied my mind until sleep overtook me.


	4. Chapter 4

Yay! I got a review. From now on, I expect more than one. but I'll let it slide this time. I've got so much planned for this story. Sorry, Pachysam, no Rose or humanized Dalek in plans. Martha, I must say, is so much better than Rose. Also, I must warn that I have a thing for physically abusing characters- no one is safe from that, not even my original characters Tegan and Bry. I had half a mind to stick jack harkness in here, but I don't like him enough to do so. I can't wait for the Sarah Jane Adventures to start! Well, enough of my rambling, on with the story.

Chapter 4

We had a very rude wake-up call.

"Get up! Get up!" shouted the mechanical voice of the Dalek leader, Caan.

We had barely stood up when Caan ordered, "Stand against the wall."

I tried to pull Sec up to his feet, but one of Caan's bodyguards pushed me against the wall with his plunger-like feeler arm, effectively breaking my physical contact with Sec. I realized that he was their target.

"There are armed Humans outside of this facility. Why have they not attacked yet?" Caan asked the Human-Dalek.

"What makes you think that he knows?" I shouted.

"You will be silent!" Caan ordered. "Sec, you have inherited the Human mind-set. You will tell us what we need to know. Why have the Humans not attacked?"

"I do not know," Sec truthfully answered.

"Unacceptable." Caan aimed his gun barrel at Sec.

Our cries of, "No!" went unheeded. A beam of green light shot out from Caan's gun barrel. Sec screamed as the beam connected with him.

We realized that the weapon setting wasn't for killing, but for causing pain.

"I don't know! Please… make it stop!" screamed Sec as his back arched and he started convulsing.

Bry had to hold me back to stop me from interfering and getting myself hurt. Luke and Maria buried their faces into Sarah's side, their eyes squeezed shut. But they couldn't block out Sec's screams of agony.

Many heart-wrenching moments later, Caan finally stopped the torturous green beam. The Daleks left without another word, leaving Sec gasping for air and sobbing from the residual pain.

The second the Daleks left my line of sight, I dropped to my knees at Sec's side and pulled him into my lap. He tightly grasped my shirt as he struggled to breathe. His legs spasmed and his eyes widened. I knew I needed to calm him before he went into complete shock.

I hugged the alien man close to me, gently rocking back and forth, humming the lullaby from the movie _Pan's Labyrinth_. I was so engrossed in this, that I didn't actually register that my friends were around us.

Sec's breathing evened and his convulsing stopped. I closed my eyes and rested my chin on top of his head, still humming the lullaby.

"Why didn't Caan ask us?" inquired Maria.

"I think he's still new to this whole being the leader thing," Bry answered.

"Well, he definitely has no problem with proving his authority," Sarah commented.

"Sec?" I addressed quietly.

"Yes?" he answered in a raspy voice.

"How many Daleks were there in 1937 New York?" I asked.

"Four… including me. We were… the last of the… Dalek race, or so… we thought."

"Then, where did the other thirty come from?" Luke asked.

"The Genesis… Ark. Originally, it was… transdimensional."

"Bigger on the inside than the outside," Sarah explained.

Sec nodded. "Thousands of Daleks were… imprisoned inside it. When we first… used it, thousands of Daleks came out. Of course, the Doctor… put a stop to… that and hid the… Genesis Ark. After… we left 1937 New York… Caan found it. It was severely… damaged. Only thirty… Daleks were left alive inside."

"That's all that's left of your kind?" I asked in wonder.

Sec let out a low laugh. "I… am the only of… my kind. But yes… that is all the Daleks left. Caan knows this. His full plan… after he enslaves all… the Humans using your… technology…he will turn you into full Daleks. The Emperor Dalek… did that before… the destruction of him and… his army."

"Sec, why did you-" Bry started to ask. He stopped when two Daleks came in.

"Sarah Jane Smith will come with us," one of them said.

"Why?" Sarah wanted to know.

"You will not ask questions. You will come with us."

I didn't want any of us to be alone. I lowered Sec to the floor and stood up. "She will not go anywhere without me," I told the machine-beings.

"That is acceptable. Follow us."

With a nod to the other three of us, Sarah and I strode from the bookstore, one Dalek in leading, one Dalek trailing behind. Caan's 'headquarters' was an electronics store. There was a news camera and a bunch of wires.

"You will make the communication equipment functional," Caan ordered.

Sarah glanced at the jumble of wires on the floor. "I don't know how to repair it," she told the Dalek leader.

Can didn't reply. He left the electronics store. Two screams followed a moment later, with a flash of blue light beams. Sarah and I both knew what that meant.

Sarah hung her head low as Caan came back in. "But, I could figure it out," she said, her voice wavering.

About forty-five minutes later, Sarah Jane and I had the news broadcast equipment up and running. Sarah had been silent the entire time. When we finished, the two Dalek guards led us back to the bookstore. The second the guards left, Sarah left the group of us and went to the back of the store.

I sighed, then noticed the food under the counter. "Where did this come from?" I asked.

"The Daleks were merciful enough to let Luke and me go get us some food," Bry answered.

I nodded and grabbed a bag of chips. The next hour was spent in silence.

"Tegan, what happened? Sarah has been gone for about an hour now," asked Maria.

I breathed deeply. "Two more people are dead."

"What? How?"

"Caan wanted us to set up some news broadcasting equipment. Sarah said that she didn't know how to fix it. Caan killed two people as inspiration," I explained. I took a deli sandwich, stood up, and said, "I'll be back."


	5. Chapter 5

Please… I really want reviews. I really want to know what you all think and any ideas you may have for this story. Onward, readers….

Chapter 5

I found Sarah Jane in the military history section. Her back was against the bookshelf. Her eyes were closed.

"Hey," I quietly greeted.

"What are you doing?" was Sarah's reply as she opened her eyes.

"Checking on you," I responded before sitting down next to her. "Sarah."

"Yes?"

"It's not your fault."

"It is. My refusal to cooperate cost those two people to die. I'm directly responsible."

"No, you're not. Caan is directly responsible. He killed them, not you."

"But, I've dealt with Daleks before. I should have known what he would do."

"According to you, these Daleks are more… evolved than the ones you met before. They know no higher authority. Caan doesn't have a creator or emperor to report to. He is the leader."

"You're very insightful for one so young," Sarah commented.

"So I've been told."

Sarah sighed. "You know, in the two years I've been carrying on the Doctor's work here, I've never felt so helpless. And I thought the Bane Invasion was bad."

"You mean the suddenly popular Bubbleshock soda? You blew up the factory, didn't you?"

My friend gave a half-smile and nodded.

"What exactly was the organic element Bane?"

"Ummmm… part of an alien. None of the food analytics could-"

"Figure out what it was," I finished. "I read the reports. I told Bry not to drink any of it. Then he went all weird. He started chasing me with a bottle of Bubbleshock."

"Still, I could definitely use the Doctor's help right now. I just feel…"

I put my arm around Sarah's shoulders. "We all feel that way every once in a while. Just like we all feel hungry every once in a while," I said, holding up the paper-wrapped sandwich.

"Where'd you get that?"

"The Daleks were merciful enough to let Luke and Bry get some food. I'll share it if you tell me about your travels with the Doctor."

Sarah gave me a mocking glare.

I shrugged. "It's not like we have anything else to do."

"Well, like I said before, it all started with UNIT's disappearing scientists…"

"Hey," I heard a muffled voice say. Then I heard someone snap their fingers. "Hey, wake up."

I opened my eyes to find that my head was lying on Sarah Jane's shoulder. Her head was on top of mine. We both sat up and shook our heads to get rid of the webs of sleep. Bry, Luke, and Maria were looking back at us.

"We would have woken you last night," Bry said.

"But, you looked so peaceful," Maria finished.

"What time is it?" I asked.

Sarah automatically looked at her wrist. "That's right, no watch."

"It's Day Three," stated Luke.

"Where's Sec?" I inquired.

"Discovering the joys of taste. He was eating a strawberry pop-tart. He didn't understand the sensation on his tongue," Bry explained.

We all had to smile at that.

"Well, we don't want the Daleks to come looking for us," I told my friends.

Sec was finishing his breakfast. He had been able to slip his feet from the manacles chaining him to the counter. For the next three hours, we discussed possible plans for escape.

Suddenly, eight people strode in. Five men and three women.

"So, you're the high-security prisoners," sneered the leader, a muscular bearded man.

"What do you want?" Sarah challenged.

The bearded man nodded to his friends. They lifted us to our feet and slammed our backs against the wall. "You don't look like much to me," the leader commented.

"I repeat, what do you want?"

"Aren't you the feisty bird."

"The Daleks wouldn't-"

"The Daleks- as you call them- gave us the run of the place, as long as we do what they want, we can do what we want, short of killing anybody."

Sec spoke up. "Believe… me when I… say this. The… Daleks don't care… about you. The Human who… served me-"

The leader silenced Sec with a backhand to his face. "Shut up, Freak."

I struggled against the red-haired woman restraining me. "Leave him alone!"

The bearded man came over to me. His female friend let go of me. "You're a pretty one. The other girl is too young for me. Your feisty friend is a bit too old. But you…"

Bry lunged at the man. The leader whipped out a pocket knife and held it at Bry's throat. Bry backed up and the man guarding him pressed his forearm into his neck.

"She your girlfriend?" the bearded man rhectorically asked. "Hope you don't mind if I get to know her better," he said before pinning me to the wall and crushing my lips with his. I instantly trapped his bottom lip between my teeth and bit down hard enough to draw blood.

The man pulled away, nearly ripping off his lip in the process. He raised his hand to strike me. It was coming down when he was tackled.

The unoccupied blonde man yanked Sec off of the leader and pitched him into the counter. Then he lifted Sec to his feet by the back of his tattered suit and held his arms behind his back, leaving him open for attack.

Surely enough, Beard repeatedly punched Sec in his stomach. The alien man sank down to his knees. We all struggled against our guards to try to stop the abuse of our friend.

Blonde picked Sec up again and threw him down onto the counter. Beard took out his pocketknife and swiped it across Sec's face. Then he plunged the knife Sec's thigh and dragged it down to his knee. Our friend screamed and thrashed around, trying to get away. In his thrashing, Sec kicked Beard and Blonde. He rolled off the counter and started crawling away. Beard and Blonde quickly recovered and kicked Sec's arms out from under him.

We all yelled variations of, "Please stop!" and "Leave him alone!"

The two men ignored us, savagely kicking our alien friend. Sec curled up in an attempt to protect himself. He yelped in pain with every kick. I even saw the knife flash a few times.

"Enough," Caan commanded.

Beard and Blonde stopped and backed away from Sec.

"Yeah. Pick on someone who can fight back," a new voice said.

We all looked at the newcomers. There was a brown-skinned woman with a spiky hairdo, and a brown-haired man in a tan pinstripe suit.

"Doctor," Sarah Jane and I said in unison.


	6. Chapter 6

Kinda short chapter. Hopefully will update again soon.

Chapter 6

"Hello, Sarah Jane," the Doctor greeted.

Caan told the Doctor and the woman, "If you attempt to leave this room, you will be-"

"Exterminated," the Doctor finished. "Blah blah blah… etcetera… etcetera."

Beard motioned to his friends. They let go of us and left with the three Daleks.

I instantly dropped to my knees by Sec and pulled him into my lap. The gash on the back of his head had reopened and there were a few knife cuts on his face.

The woman kneeled down next to me. "I'm Martha. Do you mind if I take a look at him? I'm a doctor. Well, a doctor-in-training."

"Sure. I'm Tegan."

Martha felt Sec's ribcage. "Most of them are definitely fractured. One very cracked. Wait a moment… Sec?"

The Human-Dalek slowly nodded his head. "Martha… Jones."

The Doctor kneeled down next to Martha. "Hello, Sec. What happened after Caan high-tailed it from the Empire State Building?"

"Caan… found the Genesis… Ark. His plan… is to enslave Humans… using their own tech… technology."

The Doctor sighed and turned to Sarah as Martha and I tended to Sec's wounds.

"I take it your sonic screwdriver was confiscated," Sarah said.

"Yeah. Yours?"

"Accidentally left it at home."

"So, who are our young friends?"

"Tegan, Bry, Maria, and my son Luke."

"Son?"

"Adopted, obviously."

"What ever made you adopt?"

"Luke was a Bane-grown experiment. He was born almost six months ago."

"Wow… you have been busy since we last met."

"Where's Rose Tyler?"

"Trapped in a parallel universe with Mickey, Mum, and Dad."

"Oh."

"So, what did Sec do to get such a beating?"

"Stopped that man from hitting Tegan."

"All done," Martha announced as the two of us finished cleaning Sec's face and replacing Sarah's blood-soaked sweater with Martha's red jacket.

I told Sec, "You didn't have to do that, you know."

"None… of you deserve to… get hurt."

Bry stood behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders. He said in a light tone, "That's supposed to be my job."

"Tegan, right?" the Doctor addressed.

"Yes, that's me."

"How did you know about me?"

"Other than Sarah telling me all about you, I research."

"Research?"

"My interest in extraterrestrial life led to me finding about UNIT, then an unpaid scientific advisor who could change his face."

"That sounds like somebody I know," the Doctor muttered.

"Right. Anyway, what now?" Martha asked.

"Well, there's thirty more Daleks than there were in New York."

"Four was hard enough," Martha remarked.

"I have an idea, but I'll need all your phones and my sonic screwdriver back."

"We barely got away with keeping my phone for a few extra minutes," Bry said.

"You're not planning on calling anybody," I stated to the Doctor.

The Doctor turned to Sarah. "Are you sure Tegan isn't related to you? Every time she opens her mouth…. Anyway, we need to give our buddies from UNIT out there a fighting chance."

"By shorting out the Daleks' electrical systems," Sarah and I said in unison.

The Doctor nodded. "Of course, Earth technology can't do that. But, by modifying your phones with my handy-dandy sonic screwdriver, we can at least lower the power of their guns to non-fatal. Although, hopefully, we'll also be able to physically limit their mobility."

"But the problem is getting the phones back," stated Maria.

"We don't even know where they are now," said Bry.

"Knowing the Daleks, they might have been destroyed," commented Martha.

The Doctor blew a huff of air out. "I do hope they didn't. At least, not if they wanted to take over the world using your technology."

"Maria is right, though. We can't possibly leave this store without being seen," Luke put in.

"Maybe we can," the Doctor thoughtfully objected.

"Doctor, unless we can become invisible…" Sarah started.

"Not invisible… just… out of time… out of perception."

"You lost me at 'not invisible,'" Bry admitted.

"They'll see you, but they won't register the fact that you're there. They won't notice you."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Martha asked with a smile.

"Right. Martha, I'll need your TARDIS key."

"Don't have it," Martha replied.

"What?"

"I don't have it. The Daleks confiscated mine along with yours."

The Doctor slapped his thigh in frustration. "Man, and that was such a good idea too. One of my best, actually."

"The Daleks will probably keep everything together in one place," I pointed out.

"They… will," Sec spoke up. "Some place… where their free… roaming Human servants won't… accidentally… find them. At least… that's what I would… have done."

"I hate to say this, but, now what?" Bry asked. "We can't become invisible or be visible without getting exterminated."

"I have an idea," I said. "This is a large, complex building. It has to have ventilation shafts."

"That is so cliché," Brian remarked.

"If it works…" I replied.

The Doctor jumped to his feet, grabbed my hand, and pulled me up and after him.

We followed him to the back wall, where, above the bookshelf, was a ventilation shaft grate. With a nod from the Doctor, I climbed up the shelf to take a closer look.

I pried the grate off and tried to go inside. My shoulders were too wide. I jumped down.

"Sarah, you try," the Doctor ordered.

Sarah tried as well, but the opening was too small for even her narrow hips. "Back to the drawing board," she said before jumping down.

We spent the rest of the day discussing plans for finding and getting the things the Doctor needed back. None of the plans were at all feasible.


	7. Chapter 7

Don't say I didn't warn you about physical abuse. Sec has had his turn, now it's time for someone else to get hurt. Please, please, please review.

Chapter 7

Around noon the next day, the Daleks and two traitor Humans paid us another visit.

"The Doctor and Sec will come with us," Caan demanded.

Beard and Blonde didn't say anything. Instead, they yanked Sarah and I to our feet and started pulling us after them.

Sarah and I pulled our wrists from their grasps. Bry asked, "What do you want from us now?"

"Questioning," Beard answered.

"We'll cooperate," the Doctor replied. "For now," I heard him mutter.

The Daleks took the Doctor and Sec to the electronics store. Beard and Blonde took Sarah and me to a jewelry store and shoved us against a wall with necklaces hanging from the racks. Sarah gasped as a spiked necklace dug into her back.

Calmly, she said, "Before you manhandle us any further, tell us what this is about."

"Recognize this?" Beard asked, taking a cell phone from his pocket.

"It's a cell phone," I answered.

"I know it's a mobile phone. Who does it belong to?"

"It's not mine," Sarah and I truthfully said in unison. It belonged to Bry.

"Well, either way, whose it is isn't really important. It's what's on it."

Sarah and I said nothing.

Beard shrugged. "I checked the call records on the phones of you high-security hostages. Imagine my surprise when I find in this phone's records that a call had been placed after Caan and his friends took everyone hostage."

Beard waited for a reply that he did not get. With a theatrical sigh, he went on. "You see, the time of this call was also after everything had been officially taken away from you all. My job is to find out who you called and why."

"What makes you think it was one of us who made this call?" Sarah asked.

"Well, you and your buddies are the only isolated hostages. You have enough privacy in that spacious bookstore of yours."

Sarah gave a comforting squeeze to my hand before saying, "And that fact automatically makes us guilty? Maybe if you had a bit more evidence-"

Beard silenced Sarah with a backhand strike to her face. "No more games," he hissed into her face. "Caan has given me free reign over this questioning session. I can do anything I like to make you answer me. Now, which of you took this phone back from the Daleks?"

"I did," Sarah and I responded at the same time.

"Don't listen to her," my friend instantly said. "She's only trying to share the blame."

"Oh no, I think you're both guilty. But, if you want to take all the blame, be my guest, Ms. Smith." Beard pressed a few buttons on Bry's phone. Then he held it up to Sarah's face. "Recognize that number?"

When Sarah didn't answer, the traitorous man kneed her in the stomach, making her double over, gasping for air. I struggled against Blonde's hold on me.

"Who did you call?" Beard asked after yanking Sarah upright by her hair. "A friend? A loved one? Can't be. I believe that your call is the reason why the coppers out there haven't done anything yet. Who did you call?" as he said the last word, he shoved Sarah into a sales rack with so much force that she and it crashed to the ground.

"Why don't you call the number yourself?" Sarah retorted while recovering and getting up.

Beard snarled and kicked my friend across her face when she was only halfway up. "I did. Your friend wasn't home." He kneeled down and pressed Sarah's face into the mess of earrings on the floor. "Who did you call?"

"What's your name?" Sarah's muffled voice asked in return.

Beard flipped her over onto her back and straddled her waist. "That is none of your concern. I am asking the questions here, not you," he emphasized with another blow to her face. By now, her nose was bleeding and there was a cut above her eyebrow from the earrings on the floor.

"Listen to me. Caan won't let you go free. After he gets what he needs, he'll kill-"

Beard hit her again.

"Stop it!" I protested. "She's telling the truth!"

To silence me, Blonde pitched me over the check-out counter. This turned out to be a good thing. Right underneath the counter were a few boxes with cell phones and other electronic confiscated things. The items belonging to us high-security hostages were in a separate box. I instantly grabbed a couple of random phones from a different box and a silver-and-blue metal cylinder from our box. I put the phones in the waistband of my jeans and the cylinder in the side of my shoe. Blonde came over and pulled me up to my feet, tightly restraining me.

"Why are you being so stupidly stubborn, Ms. Smith?" Beard asked rhectorically.

"At least I'm not a traitor to my own species," Sarah retorted.

Beard snarled before yanking her up to her feet by the collar of her shirt and roughly backed her up into the wall. Their noses were nearly touching. Beard stared at her in an attempt to intimidate. Sarah held his piercing stare with one of her own.

"You're not scared of me, are you?" Beard hissed in her face.

"You have not given me a good enough reason to be," my friend responded.

Beard let go of Sarah and turned away. My cry of warning was too late as he whipped something out of his pocket and aimed it at Sarah. Within a second, a green ray of light hit Sarah in her face.

A strangled cry came from her throat as she clutched her face in a delayed reaction to protect herself. She sank to her knees from the shock and pain.

"What have you done?" I yelled.

Beard ignored me. "Is that a good enough reason, Ms. Smith?"

Sarah slowly removed her hands from her face and blinked. She helplessly glanced around the store. There were no obvious signs of damage to her face from the ray-gun. But something was obviously wrong. It was when Sarah started staring straight ahead and slowly waving her arms in front of her, reaching out, that I realized exactly what Beard had done to her.

"You're scared now, aren't you, now that you can't see me," Beard said before kicking Sarah in the back, sending her sprawling to the floor.

Before my friend could get to her hands and knees and crawl away, Beard aimed several savage kicks to her chest, ribs, and abdomen. He paused long enough for Sarah Jane to think he left and uncurled herself from the fetal position. Beard suddenly kicked the back of her neck. She whimpered and curled herself back into a ball. Beard seized a handful of her hair and yanked her up to her knees.

"Now, who did you call, and why did you call them?" Beard demanded after kneeling down in front of Sarah.

She spat blood into Beard's face in response. His reaction was instantaneous. He backhanded Sarah with enough power to send her crashing into another sales rack. But Beard's rage wasn't done yet. He grabbed a belt from the wall and slowly approached Sarah with it.

"No! Stop it! Leave her alone!" I screamed.

Beard completely ignored me again. He waited as Sarah used a sales shelf to slowly and laboriously pull herself to her feet. He got impatient when she had made it to her knees.

"Sarah! Behi-" I was cut off by Blonde covering my mouth with his large hand.

Beard looped the belt around Sarah's neck from behind and tightened it. Sarah clawed at the belt and Beard's hands in a fruitless attempt to stop him from strangling her. Pitiful whimpers escaped from her throat. Finally, when she was near the point of passing out, Beard released the belt from around her neck. Then he kicked Sarah in the back again. She landed on her hands and knees, gasping for air.

With a smile, Beard swept her hands out from under her and said, "Since I'm not allowed to kill you, I guess I'll have to rough up your two brats a bit."

"No!" Sarah cried, reaching out and grabbing Beard's ankle.

In response, he kicked her face. Sarah sobbed. Not from the physical pain, but from the emotional pain that Beard threatened her with.

"Please… don't hurt them… they're all… I have."

"Then, you'd better start convincing me, Ms. Smith," Beard said after pulling her up into a sitting position.

Sarah slowly nodded her head.

"Who did you call?"

There was a hesitant beat before she answered in a hoarse, strained voice. "Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart."

"What is his importance?"

"He… he used to be in the service."

"What branch? What rank? RAF?"

"No. He used to be a Brigadier for UNIT."

"UNIT?"

"United Nations Intelligence Taskforce."

"Did he ever work for Torchwood?"

"No, never."

"And you called him because…?"

"I-I knew I had to get UNIT involved."

"Why?"

"The regular police wouldn't understand what they were up against. The Daleks would easily kill them."

"You said that your friend used to be the Brigadier. Who is the current Brigadier?"

"I-I don't know."

Sarah clearly heard Beard get up from his crouched position and walk a few steps away. "No, please, don't hurt them," she pleaded.

Beard crouched down in front of her again. "Then tell me a name. Then this questioning will be over."

"Her-her name…" Sarah let out a frustrated huff of air. "I-I can't remember."

"Start remembering."

"I can't! Please, give me time."

"Ms Smith, I'm not a very patient man. I'm sure Caan isn't either."

"It started with a… a B. Brigadier… Brigadier…"

"Brigadier Bambera," I supplied.

Beard glanced at me before lifting Sarah to her feet by the collar of her shirt. "Be glad your friend here knew the answer, Ms Smith," he hissed before shoving her into the unforgiving wood check-out counter. There was a quiet crack when the side of my friend's head struck the counter's edge. She slid down out of my sight.

I stared at Beard and Blonde as they left the jewelry store. Then I vaulted over the counter and dropped to my knees at Sarah's side.


	8. Chapter 8

So sorry for not updating sooner. School is tough work… but I did finally finish it. Here we go…

Chapter 8

I dragged her behind the counter. I wanted a place where it would seem as though no one could reach us.

Sarah moaned when I gently laid her head on the floor. Glancing around, I grabbed a bandanna and started wiping the blood from her face. My friend panicked and struck my jaw with a frightened hand.

I firmly held her wrist and leaned over to whisper in her ear, "Sarah Jane, it's me, Tegan. Its okay, they're gone now. We're alone."

"Luke… Maria…"

"They'll be fine. He's not going to hurt them."

Sarah reached up to feel my spiky hair. She winced as I finished wiping off the blood. I noticed that she was also shivering. I looked around the store for a jacket or blanket. There weren't any. I ran my hand through my hair as I thought of what to do.

I sat down behind Sarah against the counter. Then I pulled her up to me, her back to my front. I wrapped my arms around her waist and rested my chin on her shoulder. The only heat I could offer her was my own body heat. I had heard Sarah's skull crack and knew she had a concussion.

"Tegan?"

"Yes?"

"You… remind me… so much of the… D-Doctor."

"Funny. I remind him of you," I replied.

Silence passed. Sarah's shivering worsened, despite my best efforts.

"… so cold… so tired…" Sarah barely whispered.

"I know, I'm cold and tired too," I said quietly. I felt her head tip forward in preparation for sleep. "Sarah," I hissed in her ear.

"Hm?"

"We can't go to sleep," I told her.

"Wh-why not?"

"He… he hurt you pretty bad. If you do go to sleep…" my voice started cracking. "If y-you do sleep, you might not- might not wake up. And… Luke and Maria need you. Hell, Earth needs you. Understand? Don't you dare go to sleep on me, Sarah Jane Smith."

Sarah weakly nodded her head.

"Sarah, I need you to talk to me. I need you to let me know that you're still with me. Just… talk. I don't care what about. But, whatever you say, I'll listen."

"Then…I'll tell you something… I haven't told anyone else. N-not the Doctor, Luke, or Maria."

"Why haven't you told them?"

"Th-the Doctor… he would feel so… g-guilty about not coming back f-for me. Luke and Maria… I love them too much."

"You don't have to tell me. After all, you just met me a few days ago."

Sarah laid her hand over mine and weakly gave an assuring squeeze. I nearly gasped at the coldness of her hand. "I… need to tell s-someone. A-and you…"

I held Sarah tightly, my face buried in her hair, as she went into a heavy coughing fit. Tiny droplets of blood splattered onto our jeans.

A moment after her breathing stabilized, Sarah said, "A few years before I met Luke and Maria, my life was… so… unstable. I knew too much about a shady corporation. And… they hunted me down. I was constantly on the run, scared for my life…."

"You weren't alone through all this, were you?"

Sarah coughed heavily. "N-no. I-if it weren't for… Josh and Natalie, I would've died repeatedly. I-I've been shot, left out in the cold in Antarctica, infected with a deadly virus…."

"Why don't you start from the beginning," I suggested. "I believe we're going to have a lot of time to spare."

Sarah nodded her head and began the next part of her life story.

I kept Sarah Jane talking for the next three hours. I had to encourage her to keep going when she paused for an unnaturally long period of time. Like last time, she had quite a story to tell.

Sarah paused for a long while again.

"Sarah Jane," I prompted.

"…not asleep…" she murmured. "…no more to tell…"

I slightly smiled and absent-mindedly stroked her hand and her hair. Sarah was still conscious, but so out of it that she didn't even flinch when a gruff familiar voice said, "How adorable. Should I tell your boyfriend that you're cheating on him with an older woman?"

"Better with her than with you," I retorted.

Beard stroked his facial hair in a thoughtful manner. "Tegan, right?"

My response was a glare.

"Come here, unless you want me to go through your friend to get to you."

"Go on," Sarah told me. "I'll be alright."

I maneuvered my way from behind Sarah and went to stand in front of Beard, arms crossed in front of me. "What do you want?" I demanded.

"You've just given me an idea," he remarked, turning the device he had used on Sarah over in his hands.

I didn't reply.

Beard leaned forward and started talking quietly so that Sarah wouldn't hear. "I've decided that your friend isn't too old for me. Besides, I've never done a blind woman before. Maybe I'll make her deaf, too. Then she'd really be completely-"

"You are a despicable man. What do you want?"

"I've just told you what I really want, but I'll let you decide. If you want to go back to your friends, all you have to do is prove to me that Ms Smith belongs to you. And I don't mean a peck on the cheek either."

Without a word, I went back to Sarah and kneeled down next to her. I was going to have to be very intimate with her. The only problem was that not even Bry and I had gotten past the quick kiss on the lips part of our intimate relationship.

"Tegan, what's g-going on?" Sarah asked.

I lowered my mouth to her ear and whispered, "He's going to let us go back to our friends. But first… you need to respond appropriately to my actions."

"What are you talki-"

I didn't wait for Sarah to finish her question before pressing my lips to hers. I was gentle enough to not aggravate her bruises. But I was also vigorous enough to be believable. After the initial shock, Sarah did as I instructed and started reacting appropriately.

To be honest, I loved Sarah Jane. And I knew she loved me. It was the kind of love that only best friends could share.

"Alrighty, you've convinced me," Beard said after a couple minutes.

I pressed a kiss to Sarah's forehead before she pitched forward onto me, burying her face in my neck. "…cold…tired…" I heard her mumble. "I know," I replied.

Beard stepped toward us. I glared at him and he stopped in his tracks. "I'm just going to help her up," was his excuse.

"You will not touch her again," I slowly growled.

"Fine. Have it your way."

I looked down at the woman in my arms. "Sarah, you're going to have to get up now," I gently told her.

"…sleep…" she muttered. She was incoherent from the beating, concussion, and cold.

I slowly stood up, gently pulling Sarah up with me. I slung her arm over my shoulders and held her up by her waist. "Sarah, you're going to have to walk," I told her.

"You know, I could-" Beard started.

I silenced him with a glare. There was something about me when I did that that made him fear me. Apparently, Sarah felt it too. "…Oncoming Storm…" she mumbled.

Sarah shuffled along beside me, barely staying conscious. We attracted a few stares of apprehension from the large group of hostages. Beard stopped at the bookstore entrance next to the two guard Daleks and waved at us before we went in.

"Doctor!" I called once we crossed the threshold. "Doctor!"

The Doctor bounded out from behind a bookshelf. "Ah, good. You're-" He stopped midsentence when he saw the near-unconscious Sarah. Without another word, he scooped her into his arms and quickly walked from the entrance.

I followed him to the check-out counter where he gently placed her down. Everyone gathered around. Bry held me in an embrace asking, "Are you alright?"

I nodded. "It's Sarah I'm worried about." To the Doctor and Martha, "She has a concussion and she's been blinded."

They nodded and looked her over. After their once-over, Sarah asked, "T-Tegan, c-can I-I… sleep now?"

I allowed myself to give a little smile, even though Sarah couldn't see it. With a nod from Martha, I answered with, "Yes, you can sleep now."

Sarah reached out with a hand. Luke and Maria took hold of it. The Doctor shrugged off his tan overcoat and laid it over her like a blanket. Sarah was asleep almost instantly.

Barely a moment had passed when the Doctor grabbed my hand and said, "I need to talk with you, alone."

I followed him to the humour section. Kind of ironic, really, seeing as there was no humour in this nightmare.

After running his hands through his hair, the Doctor said, "I want-no, I need you to tell me exactly what happened."

I noticed that his hands were shaking and his fingers were twitching. "What did Caan do to you and Sec?" I asked.

"Nothing we didn't expect. Now, tell me everything that happened to you and Sarah."


	9. Chapter 9

Don't worry, Sec fans… there will be more Sec. (waves Sec flag). I love him too. Here we go…

Chapter 9

I told the Doctor nearly everything, leaving out what Beard had made us do. The Doctor was barely containing his anger.

"Did you see exactly what he used to blind her?"

"It looked like… like a TV remote, only tiny."

"Damn it!" the Doctor swore, punching the bookshelf. "I don't know if her blindness will be permanent or not."

I hugged him in an attempt to calm him a bit. It worked.

"Sorry. How did you keep her awake for three hours?"

"We… talked."

"About what?"

"Sarah… she doesn't want you to know."

"Why?"

"I can't tell you that either."

The Doctor nodded in understanding. A moment of silence passed. Then I remembered the items I had hidden on me.

"You know, Doctor, not only bad has come from this."

"What do you mean?"

I took out the two phones from the waistband of my jeans and gave them to the Doctor. Then I reached down and took the silver blue-tipped cylinder from my shoe and handed it to him as well.

"No way. How did you get these?"

"When Blonde threw me over the counter. There are a few boxes of phones in working order in that store under the counter. Not to mention your…sonic screwdriver."

"Haha! Tegan, you are brilliant," the Doctor said, picking me up in a hug and spinning me around a couple times. "You've just given us a fighting chance."

"I believe that your plan of shorting out the Daleks is back."

With an excited nod, he went back to the counter, where the rest of our group was. "Okay, team, we've got a plan. Tegan got my sonic screwdriver and a couple phones back. We can short out the Daleks, if we can get more phones and distribute around the mall."

"But, unless we've also got a TARDIS key, we still can't leave this shop," said Martha.

"We can still leave," Bry spoke up. "I've been thinking about Tegan's original ventilation tunnel plan. This is a two-story mall. We could get to the store above us through this ceiling. It's not a very thick layer, and it can't all be solid."

"And from there, we'd have access to any part of the mall. We could even try the fire escapes," Martha finished. "Well, Doctor, what do you think?"

"I think its genius. We should try the area above the vent," the Doctor replied. "I'll need three volunteers to come with me."

Martha and Bry raised their hands. Luke did a few seconds later. The Doctor nodded approvingly.

"But, what if Caan comes back?" Maria asked.

"I don't expect any of them to poke their heads in until tomorrow morning at the earliest," the Doctor answered. "We should be back way before then."

It only took a few moments for the Doctor to undo one of the roof tiles. "Well done, Bry," he complimented when we saw that the space above was indeed hollow. "Boost me up."

Bry held his hands together at waist height and the Time Lord stepped onto them. Then Bry hoisted him up into the crawlspace. He helped Luke, then Martha up as well.

Before Bry reached up for the Doctor's hands, he turned to me and kissed me.

"I'll be alright," I assured him. "Just don't get caught."

"That's not in the plan," he replied, kissing me again.

"Oi, kiss her later. We've got work to do," the Doctor said from above our heads.

Bry rolled his eyes, smiled, and joined the Doctor, Martha, and Luke. The floor tile to the higher level was replaced and my friends were on their way.

With a sigh, I looked to Sec. Maria was still sitting on the counter, holding Sarah's hand. With an almost sad smile, Sec came over to me and unexpectedly enfolded me in a hug.

"Sec?" I said.

"I believe that this is the appropriate reaction to helping someone in emotional distress," was his explanation.

Maria and I let out a small laugh. We couldn't help it. After my laughing subsided, I held onto the alien man tighter.

"Thank you, Sec. I really needed that," I said after I let go.

I wasn't one to pace the floor, so I sat cross-legged on the counter.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" asked Maria.

I sighed. "The question is: will any of us be alright after all this is over?"

"I still haven't asked," said Maria. "How old are you and Bry?"

"I'm seventeen, he's eighteen."

"You're obviously American. Are you tourists on holiday?"

I couldn't help but smile. "No. We live in England. Our parents are military. Anyway, Bry and I came down to London to see The Phantom of the Opera. We were early, and decided to do a little walking around. Then we saw Sarah and you know the rest."

"Do you think about what your families are thinking right now?"

"I haven't started that yet. I've been thinking about us, about how to make sure we all get through this." I glanced at the Human-Dalek. "Even you, Sec."

Sec looked slightly taken aback. "But I… I am not like you."

"I don't care. All of us are going to get out of this alive. I promise you."

A few minutes passed in silence.

"Is it me, or is it getting colder?" asked Maria.

"It's steadily been getting colder," I answered as the girl shivered.

Sec shrugged off his tattered black suit jacket and draped it around her. He then held Maria closely against him to use his own body heat to warm her up.

I ran my hand through my hair and sighed. With a small smile to Sec and Maria, I went off to wander around the bookstore and think.

I came back to the counter around midnight, unable to sleep. Sec and Maria were asleep behind the counter, but Sarah Jane was gone.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I decided not to wake Sec and Maria unless there was something to really worry about. Taking a deep breath, I started searching through the bookstore for Sarah.

I found her a couple of minutes later, in the graphic novels section. Sarah was sitting with her back against the bookshelf, the Doctor's overcoat around her shoulders. She was hugging her knees, sightless brown eyes staring straight ahead, tears caressing her cheeks.

She must have heard me approaching. "Tegan," she greeted in an almost-whisper.

I sat down next to her and slid my arm over her shoulders.

"Luke and Maria… Caan and that man were hurting them. I-I couldn't see them, but I could hear their cries and screams of pain." Sarah paused for a moment. "Then Caan ordered for extermination. Luke and Maria screamed again… then there was silence. Absolute silence…."

"Sarah, it was a nightmare, nothing more," I assured.

"Where are they?"

"Maria and Sec are asleep behind the counter. Luke is with Bry, Martha, and the Doctor. You see, they found a way up through the ceiling to the floor above us. I found a few boxes of cell phones and the Doctor's sonic screwdriver in that jewelry store. His original idea of slowing down the Daleks to give UNIT a fighting chance is back on again."

Sarah nodded her head and breathed deeply. "How did you know about Brigadier Bambera?"

"It's amazing what can be found on the internet," was my reply.

Sarah wiped the tears from her face and stretched her legs out in front of her. "A lot of what happened in the jewelry store is fuzzy, but I do remember you kissing me."

"Ah," was all I could say.

"Why did you kiss me?"

"Well… that man came back and…"

"And…?" Sarah prompted.

"Sarah, he wanted… he wanted to…"

"I understand."

"I asked him what I could do to prevent that. Basically, I had to be very intimate with you."

"Well, I'll admit, you did a very good job. No one has ever kissed me quite like that."

I couldn't help but smile and briefly squeeze her tightly. "Are you sure? Because, I've had absolutely no experience with intimate kissing."

"Oh, come on. Certainly, you and Bry-"

"No, not yet."

"Past boyfriend?"

"Bry's my first one."

"I must congratulate you."

"Why?"

"These days, most seventeen-year-old girls have had several boyfriends."

"True, that. I'm the exception to all stereotypes of teenage girls, aren't I? I don't like shopping for clothes, don't wear any make-up, don't like cell phones…"

"And you believed in aliens before all this."

"Ah yes, can't forget that."

"I take it that you're not very popular at school?"

"How do you figure that?"

"I wasn't either. I was more of… a ghost, you could say."

"You're right. I am too. My only real friend is Bry. And now you guys, of course."

"I'm honoured."

I let out a small laugh, then tried to stifle a yawn.

"Was that a yawn?" asked Sarah.

"No," I denied.

"Yes, it was. Come on, lay down." Sarah leaned over to lie down on the carpeted floor.

"What? Why?"

"One: you're in the way of my leg space. Two: sleeping against a bookshelf isn't good for your back."

I sighed and shook my head before lying down in front of Sarah, my back nearly touching her front. She propped herself up on her elbow and covered us both with the Doctor's tan overcoat. Then she slid her arm around my waist and held me closely against her. I could feel her cool breath against my ear.

Sarah leaned over me and kissed my ear. Realizing that, she tried again and kissed my cheek. "Tegan, thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything. Now, do try to get some sleep."

With a sleepy, content sigh, I said, "I love you, Sarah Jane."

"I love you, too, Tegan," was the last thing I heard before I fell into sleep.

I woke up to Sarah gently shaking me from behind. "What?" I asked.

"Listen," was her reply.

There was a rattling and a muffled curse from the back of the store.

"They're back," I said, getting up and helping Sarah up after me. I guided her to the back.

Everyone else was already there. The Doctor was standing on Bry's shoulders as he replaced the ceiling tile. As soon as it was secure, the Doctor lost his balance and they both crashed to the floor. I let go of Sarah's hand and helped Bry up to his feet.

"Luke? Maria?" Sarah asked, reaching out.

"Mum!" Luke hurried over to embrace Sarah.

"Sarah Jane!" Maria and the Doctor said in unison, joining Luke in a group hug.

Sarah winced. "Not so hard. I still feel like a walking bruise."

"Sorry," they said, letting go.

"At least you're up and coherent," said the Doctor, cupping her face in with his hands and looking into her eyes. "How's your vision?"

Sarah shook her head. "Still as blind as a Tarisian. But enough about me."

"Right," the Doctor replied before leaning against a bookshelf.

"We would've been back a lot sooner, but a couple traitors decided to camp out in front of the shop above the jewelry store," Bry said after sliding his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder.

"The fire escapes are a no-go," Martha put in. "They've been magnetically sealed."

"But the phones have been modified and distributed throughout the entire mall," said Luke.

The Doctor held up his sonic screwdriver. "I activate this, and they all start working. The only thing is that not every Dalek will be affected in the same way. Some will have decreased weapon power, shielding, mobility, or different mixes of the three."

"That's still better than facing thirty-three fully-capable Daleks," replied Sarah.

Sec spoke up. "Doctor, Sarah, are you certain about UNIT's capabilities? If they are not-"

"Sec, I know Brigadier Bambera. And the old Brig Lethbridge-Stewart is out there as well," the Doctor responded. "Between the two of them, I say our lives are in very good hands." The Time Lord gave a small smile. "Now comes the hardest part."

"What's that?" Martha and Maria asked.

"Waiting for the Daleks to make the first move."

After a couple of minutes, Bry led me a few shelves away from our friends.

"Tegan," he said seriously. "I have a feeling that this'll all end in a free-for-all fight for our lives."

"I have that feeling as well."

"I know that we just got together a couple of weeks ago, but you've been my best friend for a long time." He firmly placed his hands on my shoulders. "If this ends in a fight, please, please don't do anything stupid."

"I wasn't planning to."

"I just… I just don't want to lose you. I love you."

My response was a half-smile. Bry leaned in to kiss me. I pressed two of my fingers against his lips to halt his progress.

I told him, "Not now. After all this is over and after we all survive. Think of it as my promise."

Bry kissed the two fingers resting on his lips and nodded in understanding. "The Doctor was right, though," he said.

"The Doctor is right about many things. Be a little more specific."

"After all this pain and preparation, waiting is going to be the hardest thing."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

It had only been a couple of hours. Bry was already sick of waiting.

"You know, I really wish I had my ipod right now," he complained.

I looked up from the updated alien encounters book I had started reading. "Bry, only you could get bored in a bookstore," I commented.

"I'm too wired to read," was his reply.

I rolled my eyes and put down the book. I went to a more spacious area and started practicing karate.

The Doctor showed interest and watched. After a few minutes, he asked, "Kuk Sool Won, right?"

I nodded in answer.

"I know Venusian Akido. Trained under the best, I did."

"So have I. Master Daren Hart."

"Ah, I met him once. Quite by accident, of course. He nearly kicked me out of a formal party for 'disturbing the peace.' As if the Gregarites weren't going to do that anyway."

"I was there, Doctor, "said Sarah. "Big Australian man, very intimidating. He was ready to tie you up in your scarf, kick you out the door, and call the police. You never did thank me for getting you out of that rather delicate situation."

"I never thank you for a lot of things," the Doctor responded.

We didn't have to wait very long- only three more hours- before something happened.

Caan's bodyguards- Jast and Thay were their names- came in. "The youngest female will come with us," ordered Jast.

Sarah was first to react. She jumped up to her feet and protested, "She most certainly will not!"

Thay moved forward and trapped Sarah between his plunger-arm and the counter edge. "Would you rather she be exterminated?"

Sarah quickly shook her head. "But-"

"Sarah, please, I'll be alright," Maria spoke up, grabbing Sarah's hand in assurance.

"Let Martha go with her," the Doctor said.

"What?" asked Thay.

The Doctor went up to Thay and said slowly, "Martha will go with Maria."

Jast and Thay glanced at eachother. "Very well, Doctor," Jast replied. "You two will come with us."

Maria hugged Sarah and Luke. Martha nodded to the Doctor. The two Daleks led them out of the bookstore.

Sarah aimlessly glanced around before starting to pace the area in front of the counter. She had made several tracks in the carpet when the Doctor silently stepped in her path. Sarah stopped about a foot-and-a-half from him and turned the other way to continue her pacing.

The Doctor reached out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her back to him.

"Doctor, please let go of me," requested Sarah.

"Sarah, treading the carpet isn't going to bring Maria back any faster. Trust me, Martha will take of her."

"It isn't you or Martha I don't trust," Sarah sighed. She cocked her head, then looked up into the Doctor's eyes and grinned. "Sorry for getting blood on your jacket."

There was indeed spattered red blood on the Doctor's tan jacket from when I had brought the injured and near-unconscious Sarah in yesterday. I smiled in realization.

"Don't worry, I've got another-" the Doctor stopped and grinned when he also realized what Sarah implied. "Ah, so you can see now?"

"It's not all back yet."

"But with a little time, it will be," the Time Lord said before tightly hugging her.

Maria and Martha came back nearly thirty minutes later.

"They're going to let the rest of the hostages go," Maria said at once.

"They're going to let us go?" asked Bry. "Just like that?"

Martha shook her head. "Everyone except us. Caan wishes to 'negotiate' with Brigadier Bambera and UNIT."

"And we are to be the leverage," I understood.

"But doesn't the Brig know that Daleks don't negotiate," Sarah asked the Doctor.

The Time Lord nodded. "Caan is trying to lure them into a false sense of security. I don't expect Alastair and Bambera to be fooled, though."

"Releasing the hostages is a show of good faith," Luke put in.

"Exactly. Trying to build up a temporary trust between the two species," replied Sarah.

"Too bad for them that the eight of us are their high-security hostages," the Doctor finished. "Also good that your sight decided to come back now. It makes things a lot easier."

"Naturally," Sarah said.

The rest of the hostages were all out of the mall fifteen minutes later.

"Are we all ready?" the Doctor asked.

We all nodded before Caan, Jast, Thay, five other Daleks, Beard, and Blonde came in. we all noticed the headset cell phones on the two Human's ears.

"Looks like they've been doing a bit of phone-modifying of their own," the Doctor muttered under his breath. Then he went up to Caan and asked, "Are you going to let us go now?"

"Do not overestimate your importance, Doctor," Caan replied. "I can exterminate any of you with no consequence."

"No consequence? Aw, now tell me you don't really believe that."

"Humans are predictable. They will do anything to save even one person. Of course, they will be much more cooperative with seven."

"There are eight of us," I pointed out.

"There are six Humans and one Time Lord who Brigadier Bambera will negotiate for."

Beard and Blonde quickly grabbed hold of Sec's arms and half-dragged him to the counter. Sec fought back. Blonde elbowed the Human-Dalek's head, making him dazed enough to stop resisting. Beard handcuffed Sec's wrist to the counter.

"What are you going to do to him?" Maria and I asked.

"He will be dealt with later. Enough delay. Come," the Dalek leader ordered.

The Doctor nodded to us. We followed behind him, the other seven Daleks and the two traitors encircling us. I glanced back at Sec, alone and cuffed to the counter. His face was one of apprehension… and hope.

We stopped near the fountain. I looked up and around at the surrounding second floor. Daleks were positioned up there, ready if needed.

Dalek Caan had his troops ready. Brigadier Bambera had her troops ready.

Bambera's brown-skinned face betrayed little emotion as we were lined up in front of the guarding Daleks. The Doctor had already predicted this line-up and had earlier told us to scatter when he gave the word.

"Brigadier Bambera," Caan addressed.

The UNIT commander and her troops tensed, hands resting on their firearms.

Caan continued. "For every condition of this negotiation that I do not approve of, one hostage will be exterminated."

A man with shoulder-length dirty-blonde hair initiated a briefed hushed conversation with Bambera. She agreed to Caan's terms a moment later.

The 'negotiation' hadn't gone on for very long when Caan became displeased with what Bambera said.

The Dalek behind Luke shoved him forward onto his hands and knees.

"No!" Bambera and Sarah protested. Sarah dropped to her knees and held Luke close to her.

"Bambera, you agreed. One disagreement costs one hostage's life. Although an extra hostage wishes to sacrifice her own life as well," Caan reminded.

As the Dalek said this, the Doctor and Bambera established eye contact. The Time Lord gently patted his tan jacket pocket, then slipped his hand in.

When Caan finished speaking, the Doctor gave a small nod to the UNIT brigadier. Then he shouted, "Scatter!"


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Bambera and her soldiers started firing their weapons over our heads. We crouched low and ran, scattering our positions as we did so. The Daleks above us came into play, flying over the railing and firing their own weapons. A few of them, the ones with seriously decreased mobility, were only able to stay in flight for a couple of seconds. They didn't even clear the railing and toppled over it, breaking into pieces as they crashed to the floor.

Someone tackled me from behind. I rolled from their grasp and sprang up to my feet. Beard charged at me again. I stopped him with a jump-kick to his head, which knocked the headset cell phone from his head. Beard shook his head, then refocused on me.

"What are you doing?" I asked. "You're free. Run away from all this."

Beard shook his head. "You and your bitch-"

I punched his nose, making it bleed, to shut him up. "Don't you dare talk about Sarah like that."

Blonde suddenly picked me up from behind and held me still.

I looked into Beard's eyes and saw the emotion there. "You fear me, " I stated. I dodged the blow to my face. I saw a flying Dalek coming up behind Beard. I had to keep him distracted. "Kill me. Kill the thing that makes you afraid," I enticed.

Beard was too engrossed in making a decision to hear the Dalek behind him swoop down. Beard screamed when the blue light-beam struck him I kicked Blonde's knees, to make him let go of me. I dove to the floor as the Dalek let off another shot. I heard Blonde thud to the floor.

I got up on my knees and glanced around after the Dalek flew away. Beard and Blonde's eyes stared up at me from their lifeless faces. I quickly closed their eyes and started running, dodging bullets and ray-beams.

I heard an almighty crash as the floor above the bookstore collapsed. A scream and cry of pain instantly followed. "Maria! Sec!" I shouted, running faster to help my two friends.

Sec had once again somehow freed himself from his restraints. The Human-Dalek cried out again as Maria tried to lift the huge slab of wood that had once been the check-out counter and large pieces of ceiling tile off of his legs.

"Maria, the rest of the ceiling is going to collapse soon. Get out of here. Save yourself," Sec said.

"No," Maria and I objected when I hurried over to help. "On three."

I counted and Maria and I tried lifting the counter in vain. "Again." Once again in vain. I heard the ceiling cracking, starting to split open. The two of us lifted again, this time gaining enough space for Sec to wriggle his legs out from underneath the rubble. We dove out of the way of the collapsing ceiling. With a crash, it fell to the floor, barely a few inches from us.

"That was close," commented Maria after we got up and surveyed the damage.

Outside the bookstore, we heard Caan and the Doctor. No more weapons were being fired.

"Give it up, Caan," the Doctor said. "It's just you and me now. There are no more Daleks or Time Lords. And genocide isn't on my to-do list."

"Then you are idiotic, Doctor," Caan replied. "Time Shift."

I was about to ask Sec what that meant when two UNIT soldiers appeared in front of us, guns raised and aimed at Sec.

"Slowly put your hands up, all of you," one of them commanded.

We did so. I noticed that their guns were aimed at Sec's heart. I made my decision in the second that the soldiers' fingers tightened on their gun triggers.

I took one step to the left and in front of Sec.

Pain blossomed in my shoulder and chest. The momentum of the bullets made me spin around to face Sec. He caught me and gently, but quickly, lowered me to the ground.

"Back away from her, Alien," the soldiers ordered.

The Human-Dalek obeyed. Maria dropped to my side, took off the black suit jacket, and pressed it against my wounds.

"Don't just stand there, get help!" she shouted to the two UNIT soldiers. When they didn't move, she called for Sarah, the Doctor, and Bambera. Then she started to comfort me. "You'll be fine, Tegan, you have to be…"

My vision and hearing faded. Yet, I was completely calm as I felt my life trickle away from me.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Blurry vision. Muffled sounds. These are the senses that greeted me upon awakening.

Sight and sound cleared. I was in a white-sheeted hospital bed, wearing white hospital trousers and gown. I could feel the bandages over my gunshot wounds.

Four people were standing at the foot of my bed, talking.

"The two soldiers who shot her are Torchwood operatives," the man with dirty-blonde hair reported.

"How did they infiltrate us?" asked the brown-skinned woman.

"And I thought that UNIT was supposed to e a bit more secure than it was in my day," commented an older mustached man.

"By the way, her friends are very anxious to see her," said the blonde-haired man.

The man with short brown hair looked to me. "Well hello, old girl. Glad to see you're awake," he greeted. "I'm Doctor-"

"Harry… Sullivan," I finished. "Sarah must've been… ecstatic to see you. After all, you went… missing."

"She and the Doctor were both very… wait a minute, how do you know-"

"Hello Alastair… Lethbridge-Stewart, Brigadier Winifred Bambera, and… I'm sorry, I don't… know your name."

"Ancelyn," the blonde-haired man supplied.

"Ancelyn," I repeated.

"How do you know about us?" asked Bambera.

"It's amazing what you can… find on the internet. Now, I know… that I'm in hospital. Where are my… friends?"

"Floor below," Sullivan answered. "They're all fine. Sarah is the worst for the wear, but she'll recover fine."

"My friend Sec, the Human-Dalek…?

Silence and some fidgeting was the answer I received.

"Does Torchwood…?" I assumed.

"Yes. They took control of him for questioning," Bambera answered.

Ancelyn added, "They aren't being pleasant with him either."

I quickly sat up. "After what I did to… stop them from killing… him? I want to speak with…" I struggled to remember the name. "With… Captain Jack Harkness."

"We already tried that," said Lethbridge-Stewart. "Harkness and his team are unavailable. The way that woman made it sound, I don't think they even know what's been going on these past days."

I winced in pain and slumped back against the pillows. "My near-self-sacrifice means… nothing to Torchwood?"

"They believe that Sec mind-controlled you into taking the bullets for him," explained Sullivan. "After all 'no young woman in her right mind would sacrifice herself for a hostile alien,'" he sarcastically quoted.

"So… there is nothing you can do?"

"Nothing proper and legal," the doctor replied before taking my pulse and respiration rate.

I was tired, and fell asleep as he changed my bandages.

I awakened to someone picking me up. I slowly opened my eyes.

"Hello, Ancelyn," I sleepily greeted. Ancelyn was holding me against his chest. "Will you put me down now?" I requested.

"Doctor Sullivan said that you'd be weak and drowsy from your injuries and the medications," Ancelyn explained.

"Oh. And where are you taking me?"

"We're going get you, the Doctor, and the rest of your friends out of here," answered Bambera.

"Sec…?"

The Brigadier smiled at me. "Yes, him too." To Ancelyn, "Let's go."

Because my injured shoulder and aching arm were in a sling, I only had use of one arm. I put it around the blonde man's neck to hold on. He carried me to the elevator. We got off on the fourth floor and went to a door being guarded by three UNIT soldiers. They nodded at us and opened the door, allowing us entrance.

Bry, Sarah, Luke, Maria, and Martha were all asleep in the hospital beds. The Doctor came over and asked with a signature grin, "Is it visiting time?"

Bambera rolled her eyes. "Doctor, we're going to get you all to your TARDIS. We found it, but it's still where you left it."

"I trust that we're not going to leave Sec in Torchwood's hands?" the Doctor replied.

"Of course not," Ancelyn responded as the Doctor and Bambera started waking everyone up.

"Hello, Bry," I greeted when Bambera none-too-gently shook him awake.

"Tegan!" he cried in delight before hurrying over and kissing my forehead. "How do you feel?"

"Better," was my simple answer.

Bry looked at Ancelyn. "Thank you. I'll take her from here."

Ancelyn nodded before carefully handing me over to Bry.

"I'm not fragile, you know," I commented.

"You are until the Doctor says otherwise," Bry retorted as I wrapped my arm around his neck.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Martha.

"Doctor Sullivan is waiting for you with a troop transport truck. He'll sneak you into the 'no-civilians' zone were the mall and your TARDIS are," the Brigadier answered.

The Doctor in approval.

Sarah asked, "Won't you three get court-martialed or something?"

"Not me," Ancelyn replied. "Technically, I'm a civilian."

"Besides, the powers that be can't make a big scandal out of it," added Bambera. "That's one of the advantages of being part of a secret government organization. Come on, Sullivan is waiting."

Bambera and Ancelyn led the way to the second floor. Two Torchwood guards met us as we exited the elevator.

"I'm sorry," one of them said. "No one is allowed on this floor until further notice. Not even military personnel."

Without a word, Bambera and Ancelyn struck the two guards once with their fists. The Torchwood operatives went down and stayed down.

"I hate to use violence against my own species," commented Bambera before leading on.

We turned a corner and were confronted by three guards. Before they could say anything, the Doctor activated his sonic screwdriver. The earpieces the guards had on gave off a brief electric current, just enough to shock them into unconsciousness.

Then the Doctor turned the door handle that the Torchwood operatives had been guarding. "Hmmm. Where's the only place in a hospital that the door is locked?" he rhectorically asked before using his sonic screwdriver on the lock.

When the Time Lord opened the door, I suddenly jumped out of Bry's arms and stumbled to the center of the room.

Sec was slumped forward in a steel chair, his hands cuffed to the armrests. He was bent over so much that I couldn't see his face. I gently pushed him back against the chair. His head lolled to the side.

"Please… I don't know… I'm telling you the truth…" Sec mumbled. Without warning, his eye snapped open and he tried to leap up from the chair. The handcuffs stayed taut and did not break under the stress.

I fell backwards into Bry from Sec's unexpected ferocity. The Human-Dalek stared dead ahead for a few seconds before collapsing back into the chair, unconscious.

Bry helped me up. The Doctor set to work on undoing the cuffs with his sonic screwdriver. He cursed and switched the setting on his tool. I went back to the now calm and comatose Sec and slowly peeled back his eyelid.

"Doctor, his eye is clouded," I said.

"They've drugged him," the Doctor concluded.

Sarah studied a few bottles and syringes on the counter. "He was seriously drugged." She read off the labels on the bottles.

"If he were Human, he'd be dead," the Doctor gravely replied. "Still, the only hope for his full recovery is to get him to the TARDIS."

"Doctor, what's taking so long?" Bambera impatiently asked from her look-out position at the door.

"Torchwood has gotten more tech-savvy since last time I met them," was the Time Lord's explanation. "… maybe setting 132?" he asked himself. He let out a whoop of victory when the cuffs sprang open. "And all systems are go," he said.

The Doctor motioned to Bry, who picked me up. "Do you mind?" I complained. "I do have legs."

"Well, you're still weak and tired from the meds you've been on," was Bry's reasoning.

I muttered, "I'll show you weak…."

The Doctor and Ancelyn placed Sec's arms over their shoulders and hauled him into an upright position. The Human-Dalek's bare feet dragged across the cold linoleum floor. "Alrighty, Brigadier, lead on," the Doctor instructed.

Bambera led our little group, with the Doctor and Ancelyn half-carrying, half-dragging Sec at the rear. There were no further run-ins with Torchwood members or any hospital workers. Bambera brought us to the parking lot, where Sullivan was leaning against the side of a UNIT troop transport truck. He held open the green canvas flap at the back and helped us in. Bambera and Ancelyn said their good-byes and wished us luck before hurrying back into the hospital.

"Everyone ready?" asked Sullivan.

We all nodded.

With an affirming nod in response, Sullivan closed up the canvas, leaving us in near-darkness. The only light that filtered through was that of the street lamps.

Bry hadn't let go of me and securely held me in his arms as he sat on the bench. I decided not to fight it. I was too tired and reveled in his presence. The beat of his heart lulled me to sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

I awakened with a stretching yawn and turned my head to the side. My brown eyes met Sec's blue one. He slightly jumped, as though startled. The Human-Dalek was sitting in a chair by the bed I was in. His black satin tie was gone and the top few buttons of his black shirt were undone.

I assessed my situation. I knew that we were in an infirmary of some kind in the Doctor's TARDIS. I was still in the white hospital clothing, but my sling was missing and I could feel that my bandages had been changed. There wasn't a mirror, but I knew I probably looked like hell. After all, who didn't after a life-or-death hostage situation and being shot twice?

I refocused on Sec. He lowered his head and avoided my gaze. I swung my legs around to let them hang off the side of the bed. I gently tipped his head back up so that he was looking at me again. Before he could say anything, I asked, "What did they do to you?"

"They injected several chemicals into me. It felt as though my blood was burning…. Why did you step in front of those bullets?"

"Do you want to logical reason or the emotional reason?" I asked in reply.

"Both."

I nodded and took a deep breath. "Logical: Those guns were aimed at your heart. I am shorter than you, so the bullets wouldn't have hit mine. It was still pretty close though. Emotional: I made a promise that everyone, including you, would get out of there alive. Sec, there is nothing I would not do for a friend. Keep in mind that I don't have very many friends."

"But, I-"

"No," I said firmly. "No more self-depreciation. You are not Dalek Sec." I ran my hand through my hair. "What was the name of the Human who served you?"

"Diagoras."

"Then, from now on, you shall be Sec Diagoras. A Dalek name and a Human name. You're a new man." I smiled and glanced at his clothing. He had probably been wearing the black suit since his transformation. "And a new man needs new clothing attire," I told him.

A confused expression fell upon Sec's face. I got up out of the bed and encouraged, "Come on. Sarah said that there was a wardrobe somewhere on this ship."

Sec followed me as we wandered around the corridors, opening doors and peeking inside. We found the wardrobe about fifteen minutes later. I let out a low whistle upon entering. There were racks upon racks of clothes from different time periods, countries, and even planets.

"I do hope you have some plan of where to start," Sec remarked.

I looked him up and down and nodded. I grabbed his hand and led him to the twenty-first century Earth section, then refined my search to Tibetan clothing. I found what I was looking for. I just couldn't reach it. Stretching was still a bit painful to do.

"Sec, would you get that down for me?" I asked and pointed to the hanging outfit.

Sec reached up and pulled down the attire set. It was tan pants with a beige tunic. "This one?" he inquired.

"Yeah. Go on, try it out," I encouraged.

Sec laid the clothes on the floor before starting to take off his black shirt. I quickly turned around to give him some privacy.

"Why did you turn away?" asked the Human-Dalek.

"Sec, for future reference, don't change your clothes in front of females."

"I am sorry. Is it wrong?"

I resisted the urge to turn back around and take a peek at the shirtless alien man. "It's not wrong exactly. It's just… just not very modest. You'll understand as you experience society."

"Oh," was his response.

I waited until the sound of rustling clothing ceased. "Are you done?" I asked to make sure.

"Yes."

I turned around. "Very nice," I commented. "Now, you'll need something…" I found what I was looking for on a lower rack. I took it off the hangar and handed it to him. It was a brown Jedi-ish robe. He put it on and adjusted it.

I couldn't help but smile. "You look very nice. Handsome, even."

"I do?" was Sec's reply.

A sudden thought came to me. "You've never seen yourself before, have you?"

Sec shook his head. He was already picking up Human gestures.

"Well, I'm sure that there is a mirror around here somewhere."

"Are you certain that you should be exerting so much physical energy with your injuries?" was the Human-Dalek's concerned response.

"I feel fine, as long as I don't stretch my arm. Now, come on," I said, taking his hand.

We quickly found the mirror. When Sec saw his far-off reflection, he slowly stepped forward, entranced. I followed a couple of steps behind him.

"Is this really me… what I look like?"

"Yes. Why? What did you expect?"

"I do not know… something…."

I came up behind him, rested my chin on his shoulder, and held him close against me. "You expected something ugly and horrifying," I stated.

"Yes."

"Well, that's not what you got," I told our reflection. "Believe it or not, you are a very beautiful person, both inside and out."

"But-"

"No, Sec. No more self-depreciation. No matter what anyone else says, you are a beautiful person. I can't tell you about other societies, but most Humans will judge you by your physical appearance. Do not listen to those people, whether they're from Earth, Mars, Alpha Centauri, or the Andromeda Galaxy. Do you understand?"

Sec nodded his head. I released my hold on him. He went over to the chair a few feet away, sat down, and let out a long sigh. Once again, I followed, and sat across from him.

A moment of silence passed before Sec asked, "How do you judge people you do not know, Tegan?"

I leaned forward in my chair until I could touch him. "I judge people by what is in here…" I touched his forehead. "… and by what is in here," I touched the left side of his chest, where his heart was.

A puzzled look fell upon the Human-Dalek's face. "My heart? But there is only blood-"

I explained, "In Human cultures, we see the heart as the center of all our emotions."

"Ah, I see. But, you cannot physically look inside my heart and brain and see what kind of person I am."

I looked into Sec's blue eye. "There is a phrase that I believe in. 'The eyes are the window to the soul.' Eyes are very expressive. Looking into them is how I judge people."

"I understand." After another minute, he let out a frustrated groan. "Things are much more complex now. I am much more complex now. Everything used to be so simple…."

"Would you like to go back to that?"

"No. Not if it means I must go back to what I used to be."

I nodded my head. "Your life is your own now. You don't have orders or pressure from anyone. You're free to be the man you want to be."

Sec raised his head as he digested this statement. "Yes," he replied after a long moment. "I am free."

We were both startled by the knock on one of the clothing racks. Sarah Jane stepped from behind it.

With a smile, she said, "I thought I'd find you both here. Mind you, this room has definitely gotten bigger since I was last in it. Did I interrupt anything?"

Sec and I shook our heads. I said, "Just helping him get in touch with his humanity."

"Where is everyone else?" asked Sec.

"It's been quite a few hours since Harry dropped us off. Bry, Martha, and the Doctor got you two situated before we took off. They're all in the Console Room, asleep, except the Doctor. He decided to release sleeping gas into the room. I woke up first ad decided to check up on you two."

I smiled. "And you knew that we would be here… how?"

"Not many people like to stay in hospital gowns."

"True, that."

Sarah glanced at me, then Sec, then me again. I understood what she implied.

"Sec, do you mind waiting outside for a few minutes?" I asked.

"Did I do something wrong?" asked the Human-Dalek.

"No," I said with a smile. "It's a modesty thing."

"Oh, I'll be outside then," he answered before getting up and going.

"A modesty thing?" Sarah repeated when he was out of earshot.

"I gave him some clothes to change into, and I had to tell him about not getting dressed in front girls and about modesty."

"Sec reminds me of Luke," Sarah commented.

I nodded. "Everything is new to him. I'm sure you didn't tell Sec to leave just so we could talk about him."

"You don't mind if I check your bandages, do you? I'm no doctor, but-"

"I don't mind. Who changed them earlier?"

"Martha. She's training to be a doctor."

"Yeah, she told me that," I replied while ripping open the thin collar and sleeve of my white hospital shirt.

Sarah started gently unpeeling the white bandages. "You didn't tell the Doctor anything I told you, did you?"

"Of course not. You implied that I shouldn't, so I didn't," I responded. When she took a look at the gunshot wound, I asked, "Well, what's the verdict?"

"Yours will definitely heal better than mine did," my friend answered. She rewrapped the bandages, then held up the ripped sides of my sleeves. She said with a mocking glare, "Since you've already expressed your dislike for these clothes, I guess I'll help you get into something else."

"Thank you," I said before getting up and following her.

It wasn't long before Sarah Jane held up a matching black tunic and pants set embroidered with silver from "Vorzyd"

I nodded in approval. "Very nice."

Sarah helped me change into the tunic and pants. We looked at my reflection in the mirror.

Sarah complimented, "I like it. Do you?"

I smiled and nodded. I turned to face her and pulled her into a one0armed hug. "Sarah, I am so glad I met you."

Sarah held me against her with both arms. "I think I've finally figured you out."

"Oh, really?"

"You're like someone took the best bits of the Doctor and the best bits of me, and made a whole new person."

"Should I take that as a compliment?" I teased.

I felt Sarah's smile before she let go of me. Her facial expression turned to seriousness. "Tegan, the Doctor might ask you to join him in his travels."

"Am I not too young to be gallivanting around the galaxy?"

"No. I was only twenty-three. There was an Australian woman named Tegan Jovanka, she was only twenty-one. with her was a fifteen-year-old boy named Adric."

"Well then, I guess I'm not too young. And what about Bry?"

"I must admit, the Doctor wasn't too fond of Harry at first, but soon warmed up to him."

"If he does ask, how should I answer?"

Sarah Jane took a deep breath. "I think… I think you should accept his offer. I know that you would want to, and opportunities like this happen to a rare few people. You should take this opportunity."

There was a light shudder underneath our feet. Sarah said, "We've landed."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"I do believe that Sec has waited for us long enough," I remarked. "How about we go see where we are?"

Sec, Sarah, and I went to the console room, only to find it empty. But the door to the outside world was partly open.

"Allo," The Doctor greeted when we stepped out of the TARDIS onto blue-green grass. "I thought we could all use a little good vibes, so I brought us to the Eye of Orion."

Before I could say anything, Bry ran up to me and lifted me off my feet by my waist, spinning me around. I surprised him when he started to lower me. I pressed my lips to his and initiated a long and passionate kiss. We heard the Doctor say to Sarah, "Looks like the good vibes are already working."

We were all glad for the feeling of peace on the Eye of Orion. As we sat watching the sunset, the Time Lord said to the Human-Dalek, "Well, Sec, what will you do now? Where will you go?"

"I would like to travel Earth, in your time, but-"

Maria asked, "But what?"

"I am not like you. I do not look Human, like the Doctor does."

We said nothing more on the matter, but I noticed the small thoughtful smile on the Doctor's face.

We reentered the TARDIS. Soon after the Doctor set the controls to "One hour after we left," he promised. He opened the door about ten minutes later. We exited to find ourselves on a heavily forested hill, overlooking a village.

"Where are we?" Bry was first to ask.

The Doctor answered with, "Earth. Argentina, to be exact. The perfect place for someone to start exploring this planet."

Sec was taken aback. "But, I cannot-"

"Yes, Sec, you can. And you won't have to worry about anyone seeing you and using you for experiments," the Time Lord told him. He dug in his pocket and pulled out a black wrist strap and handed it to the Human-Dalek. "Put it on," he encouraged.

Sec fastened the strap onto his wrist. Almost instantly, his face and hands changed. His brown-green skin went to a light tan color. The fused fingers on his hands separated into five fingers. His face now had two eyes, a nose, and two ears. Short black hair appeared on his head. Sec was a… Human man, and a rather handsome one at that.

Martha recognized the Human that he looked like. "Diagoras," she said. "Doctor, what did you do?"

"It's only a hologram," the Doctor answered.

"Only a hologram?" I echoed. I pressed the palms of my hands against Sec's. "But, this feels so real."

"It's Rovain technology. They're very good with their holographic projections. They look, feel, taste, smell, and sound real," the Doctor explained. "Take it off for a minute."

Sec took off the wrist strap. Almost immediately, his familiar Human-Dalek features reappeared. he studied the strap for a moment before putting it back on.

"There's nothing to stop you from doing what you want to now," I told Sec, stroking his smooth tan cheek with my hand.

A Human smile brightened his face. "Then I shall travel and explore this world, with a new mind, a new perspective." He hugged me tightly. "Tegan, thank you for saving my life."

"It was the least I could do," I replied. "I'm going to miss you, Sec Diagoras."

"We're all going to miss you," Sarah said.

We all said our good-byes to this alien of a man. With one last nod to us, Sec Diagoras strode down the hill to his new life.

The next time we exited the TARDIS, we were in the back garden of a large house.

"Wow, Doctor. Not only did you get the street right, you also got the house right," Sarah commented.

Maria was the first to go around to the front yard of the house. "Dad! Clyde!" we heard her shout in excitement. Luke quickly joined her.

"Sarah Jane, before I go," the Doctor said before he lifted her off her feet with a tight embrace. "It was great to see you again. The circumstances could've been a bit better, but…"

"It was great seeing you too, Doctor," responded Sarah.

Then the Doctor and Martha turned to Bry and me. "Tegan, Bry, there is something I want to ask you," said the Time Lord. "Will the two of you do me the honor of joining me and Martha on our travels?"

Bry was a little shocked, to say the least. I glanced at Sarah, who nodded, before answering, "Yes, we will," to the Doctor.

Bry was still digesting the Doctor's offer. He smiled and nodded his head after a minute. Bry and Martha shook Sarah's hand before going into the TARDIS. The Doctor nodded to her before following them.

I threw my arms around Sarah Jane. "I'm going to miss you," I told her.

"I'll miss you, Tegan. Just remember, when you're done, to come visit me."

"I will. I love you, Sarah Jane," I said before releasing my hold on her.

"I love you, Tegan. Now go on. Have the adventures of your life."


	16. Epilogue

And here it is… the last chapter. This is officially the first story I have finished. I hoped you all liked it. I have started a sequel/series, if anyone is interested. The next adventure will be called "To Dream of Memory." Hobey ho…

Epilogue

Year: 2016.

Bry and I had spent two years, TARDIS time, with the Doctor. True to his word, the Time Lord had brought us back home about two hours after we had left. Our families noticed that we had come back from the hostage situation changed. We knew we couldn't tell them about any of our adventures in time and space. We had gone to visit Sarah Jane about a week after we came back.

It had been nine years since the Dalek hostage situation, not including our two "TARDIS Time" years. Bry and I graduated from university with a PhD in archaeology each. Three days after that, we had gotten married. Sarah Jane and I had built a transmat link between our two houses, since we lived in different countries. With a quick call, we could visit each other almost instantly. Maria, Luke, and Clyde attended the university near their homes

Right now, the two of us were heading a dig in Egypt, near Cairo. We had found, despite what all the other archaeologists had told us, a temple, lost in the sands of time, until now. And, in the temple, we had found-

"Tegan! Bry!" called the voice of an Egyptian boy named Aziz.

"Down here, Aziz," Bry called back.

Aziz scrambled through the tunnel that led to the area of the temple we were excavating. He dusted himself off when he stood up. "There you are. There is a man at the tent who wants to see you."

"Did he say why?" I asked.

Aziz shook his head. "Nothing specific. But he did want to see you two in private."

Bry and I glanced at eachother and shrugged. "We'll take a break in a few minutes. We'll see him then," Bry replied.

With a nod, Aziz clambered back through the tunnel. My husband and I followed a few minutes later. We entered the enclosed break room tent. We were alone except for a man wearing a long brown Jedi-ish robe. The hood concealed his face.

"Are we alone?" he asked.

"Yes," answered Bry.

The man took something off of his wrist, then pushed back his hood.

"Sec!" I cried, throwing my arms around his neck. I kissed his tentacled cheek. Bry shook our friend's hand in greeting.

"It has been a good nine years for you two, hasn't it?" Sec said after I let him go.

"Definitely," Bry and I said in unison.

"You?" I asked.

"There are still many places I have not been. But, I heard that the two of you would be here."

"You're lucky you came when you did," I replied. "We're getting on a plane to London in about five hours."

"Why?"

"We have to take a few artifacts to the London Museum of Archaeology. And we're going to see Sarah Jane while we're there," Bry answered.

"We have a couple extra seats on the jet," I informed.

"I have never been on an airplane of any kind before," Sec hesitantly said.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. That reminds me, I was going to ask Aziz if he wanted to come," I said.

"Aziz? Are you sure about that?" my husband asked.

"Yes. He's been asking me to take him to London for the past month. I might as well indulge his wish."

"Uhhuh. As long as you claim responsibility for him. A fifteen-year-old formerly homeless boy…"

"Oh, he'll behave, I'm sure. Sec, we leave for the airport in about three hours. You can relax here until then. Please don't wander off."

The jet landed in Heathrow Airport five hours after we took off from Cairo. Most of the artifacts we brought with us were in our suitcases. But the special ones were in our carry-ons. Our contact with the museum was waiting for us. He led us to a van.

"I'm sorry, Mr Ackerman," I said. "But my husband and I won't be joining you."

"Why not?"

"We need to go see our advisor about a few things. I'm sure you understand," I told him before Bry and and I took out the bubble-wrapped artifacts from our suitcases and putting them in the seat next to Aziz. "Can I trust you to take care of these?"

Aziz enthusiastically nodded his head.

With a wave, Mr Ackerman drove away.

We called a taxi and told the driver Sarah's address. It didn't take very long to get there. As soon as I paid the driver, he drove off. We lugged our backpacks and suitcases to Sarah's front door. I knocked.

It took a moment before a young brown-skinned man answered the door. "Hello, Clyde," I greeted.

"Tegan? Bry?" he asked. "But you always come by transmat."

"Clyde, who is it?" we heard Alan Jackson ask from inside.

Tegan and Bry and… some other guy," Clyde answered. He helped us get inside with our luggage and closed the door. Sarah, Luke, Maria, and Alan came to greet us. Before they could say anything about us always using transmat, I drew their attention to the hooded Sec.

"Everyone, say hello to Sec Diagoras," I said.

We spent dinner playing catch up, mostly with Sec. Afterwards, I took out the Special artifacts and laid them on the table.

"We have discovered that there were Star Poets in Ancient Egypt," I announced.

The evidence of that statement was painted and engraved on the stone tablets. Clyde let out a low whistle.

"Of course, we can't exactly put this on display," said Bry.

"I know what you mean. You'd be laughed out of house and home," Alan remarked.

"Exactly," I replied. "Still, there were a lot of things in the temple that wasn't alien-inspired."

"Was there anything else about the Star Poets?" asked Sarah.

I shook my head. "We found evidence of a fire. We think that anything else related to these tablets were destroyed."

"That's a shame," Maria commented. "Still, at least we know they were there."

At that moment, K9, Sarah's robotic dog, came up to us. "Mistress, there is a situation in Cardiff that requires your attention."

"Thanks, K9." Sarah turned to us. "Well, what do you say?"

"Time for an adventure," we all said in unison. Sec nodded his head after a moment.

We were a family, all of us. We carried on the Doctor's work on Earth. In secret, of course. But that didn't make us any less important.

My best friend, Sarah Jane Smith, said it best. "I saw amazing things, out there in space. But there's strangeness to be found wherever you turn. Life on Earth can be an adventure too. You just need to know where to look."


End file.
